Route from Florida to Yellowstone last week in Sept

[Toppdogger]

We are planning our 1st big trip from FL to Yellowstone, the last week in Sept with our 40ft coach, and towing a jeep. We will be staying a Madison campground. Which is the best route to go, trying to avoid the stress of narrow roads, sharp turns and steep inclines?

How many hours a day do you drive when you are going cross country?

Will we have to winterize our RV for a week?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences!

[Toppdogger]

Thank you everyone for your inpu! We are traveling from the Tampa Bay area. I think we have decided on I80, to 287 through the GTNP and into Yellowstone. We made a reservation for my birthday dinner at the Old Faithful Lodge!
Let the Adventure begin!

[padredw]

A good route would be to work yourself along I-80 at some point and then exit at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Take Hwy 191 north into Jackson, WY and drive through (and hopefully spend a couple nights) in Grand Teton. Then continue north through Grand Teton and enter Yellowstone from the south.

I think you should consider turning at Rawlins onto US 287 over Togwotee Pass into Moran and up to Grand Teton and the South Entrance to Yellowstone. Just my opinion.

[2gypsies1]

September can be an absolute beautiful month for Yellowstone. We've been there at that time a few times and never had snow or heavy freezes. Of course, every year is different. I'd try to be out of the area by the 3rd week of September and begin heading south.

You don't have to winterize during your trip. If it freezes at night it will warm up during the day. Fill your water tank and skip the hose outside, especially if you plan to leave the next morning. The hose will be frozen. Same for your sewer hose... keep it stored until you need to dump. Of course, at Madison you'll have no hookups so you don't have to worry about it.

I hope you were considering seeing Grand Teton Nat'l Park also. They're right next door. Gros Ventre campground in the park is a nice place to stay. There are a few sites with electric but you have to ask for them. The campground has 300 sites and none are reservable and it rarely fills, especially in the Fall. There's a dump station and water fill. You'll be close to Jackson for major grocery shopping just south of town and for general small-town looking at shops.

A good route would be to work yourself along I-80 at some point and then exit at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Take Hwy 191 north into Jackson, WY and drive through (and hopefully spend a couple nights) in Grand Teton. Then continue north through Grand Teton and enter Yellowstone from the south.

When you leave Yellowstone, definitely head into Utah and visit the awesome national parks there. Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley (not a national park but nice) and perhaps even getting into Arizona and the Grand Canyon before heading east on a more southerly route to your home. All of these other parks have great weather at least through mid-October.

Can you leave home the last week of August? That would give you a leisurely drive to reach Yellowstone. 300 miles in a RV is tops for us. That's about 5-6 hours, pull in and relax a while. You'll be more refreshed for those daily drives it you don't push it - IF you have the time. It sounds like you might be retired so enjoy the trip and don't make it a rushed one! How often will you do it?

OOPS! Just re-read your post and you said the LAST week of September. I was thinking the first week. If you can change your plans I really think you'd be happier more toward the first part of September. You might luck out with the weather the end of Sept. but you will likely have some snow and lot colder nights and perhaps days. Just a suggestion.

[ReneeG]

All excellent advice. Whatever route you take, do not take Teton Pass between Victor, ID and Wilson, WY. With so many routes into the GTNP and YNP area, avoid this one.

[RGar974417]

Map quest shows this route:https://www.mapquest.com/directions/from/us/fl-282094580/to/us/wyoming/business-yellowstone-np/yello... But I would modify it. After I-29, get on I-80 west through Nebraska then into Wyoming and take I 26-287 to the Grand Tetons and enter Yellowstone that way. Nice drive into the park. We stayed at Madison in May.Nice, centrally located campground. Make sure to go into the Old Faithful Inn. It's supposed to be the largest log structure in the world. The interior is beautiful. The food is good and the prices are decent. We saw a mother grizzly with 3 cubs on the way from Norris to Canyon.

[jolooote]

Many CGs start to close the 1st week of Oct. in the north.

[agesilaus]

OK we live in North Central Florida and over the years have made that trip a number of times. We just got back from taking the first section up to Iowa.
I-75 -> I-24 in Chattanooga
I-24 to I-57N
I-57 to I-64W

Then to avoid St Louis which in our opinion has the worst roads and traffic of any major city.

We take Ill Hwy 127 north to I-55 then I-55N to I-72.
Get on I-72W into Iowa then US 61N to I-80.

Follow I-80 to Cheyenne WY where you get on I-25N.

At that point you can get into Yellowstone at least three ways. US20 at Casper WY. US 14 at Sheridan WY or follow I-25 to I-90W and then south at Bozeman on US 89. Somehow you have to climb to 8000 feet at Yellowstone. We haven't taken the US 20 route but have done the other two and I don't recall any extreme grades on either one. We did the US89 route last summer and it seemed to be fairly flat until you get to YNP. Bozeman is at 5000 ft so there is a 3000 ft gain in there.

Do not drive the Beartooth Pass since it does have steep grades and lots of switchbacks.

As for how long you drive each day, that depends on your schedule. If you are short on time them you need to drive longer each day obviously. We used to do 500 mile days before I retired, now we aim for 300-350 mi/day. Doing 500 mi days should see you in YNP in 4 days. Depending on where you begin.

I saw someone mention Pensacola, if you start from there I'd take I-10W to I-55N then follow that to I-57N. From there just follow the above route.

I fudged on the section near St Louis we actually get down on the smaller roads which are fine but twisty with lots of small towns and drive along the Mississippi to Keokuk IA then take surface roads thru Iowa. But I'm not sensitive to grades and curves.

[padredw]

From Pensacola to Yellowstone would be five hard days of driving at the minimum. Would be better to take a week.

But here is the route I'd take: Pensacola across I-10/I-12 in Louisiana (Not with the floods today!) then I-49 up to Shreveport.

I-20 West to US 69 near Tyler and up to US 82 at Sherman, TX. Follow US 82 to Wichita Falls, TX and US 287 to Amarillo.

Amarillo to Dalhart, TX; Dalhart to Raton, NM and I-25 North to Cheyenne. Then west to Laramie and US 287 to Moran, WY.

That's enough for now. I will come back on later and post possible overnights along this route.

[kaarsti]

Good advice AZDRY. I can recommend gassing up at the Sinclair on Madison St. in West Yellowstone before entering the park. Pull up between the pumps, and not on the inside or outside lane. Then, when you're ready to leave, you're tank is full and ready to go. Plenty of room under the gas canopy. No worries.

[BB_TX]

We have traveled as much as 8-10 hours or more in a day. But never that long two days in a row. 5-6 hours is more our normal limit. And even that gets old more than two consecutive days. But everyone is different in that respect.

On interstates and other multi lane limited access highways you will probably average around 55 miles per hour, factoring in stops for food, fuel, and rest. Secondary highway speeds will be less. Don't be mislead by travel times shown on google maps or similar. Those time are actual driving times. If you check the numbers you will find they are figuring an avg. speed in the upper 65-70 mph range, and than is not going to happen unless you never stop.

[azdryheat]

Get yourself a Motor Carrier's Atlas to find which roads are approved for the 18-wheelers. I would stick to the Interstate as much as possible. In your case, after checking Google Maps, it appears you can do your entire trip on the Interstate.

Can't speak of the entire Yellowstone area but when we were there the end of Sept we learned that the town of West Yellowstone closes up shop the first of Oct. Nice thing is most shops will have their stock on sale before closing up for the winter.

You won't be winterizing as your MH will be in use. Be prepared for the park's water pipes to freeze during the night so you'll have to use your on-board water. As I recall we had low temps around 28*. And drain the water out of your hose to prevent it from freezing. Once the sun comes up things should law out.

How far we drive each day depends on if we are racing the clock to get somewhere. We went from Tucson to Tampa in four days doing over 500 miles each day. Some days we might only do two or three hundred miles. Depends on what we're doing.

[kaarsti]

Hi! We have the same set up, and we have been traveling back and forth from AZ & IN to Yellowstone for 4 years. We work here during the summers! So, while we haven't traveled here from the SE, I would still recommend either coming from I 10 through Nevada and up I 15 all the way through UT & ID, and then take HWY 20 at exit 19 in Idaho Falls all the way to the west gate of the park in West Yellowstone. Madison CG is about 14 miles from the west gate.
If you go north before NV, I would get up to I 80 at least in NE, and take it all the way through Wyoming to get to I 15 in Utah and then up from there.
These aren't the quickest ways, but they keep you near diesel truck stops and off of winding mountain roads.
I 40 is another possibility, if you choose this, I would recommend taking it through Kingman and then going over the Hoover Dam and connecting up with I 15 that way.
The more travel time you allow yourself, the less stressful the trip!
The weather out west is still mild in September unless you're at high elevation. The Park averages 8000 feet elev. and we can have snow any day of the year. (we don't usually, but the opportunity is there) You won't need to winterize, but I would recommend an electric water hose like pirit or heat tape for the water hose. If it does get into freezing temps at night, just don't connect the sewer, and pull the hose out to dump as needed. Madison doesn't have hookups, so you won't have to worry about that there.

Hope this helps. - Lori